The Human Element
by DearYouFromMe
Summary: Lorraine Lamperouge is a talented, cold, and cunning strategist. She needs to be in order to survive in a world full of strife, conflict, and tyranny. However, she forgets about one important thing. The Human Element. A series of Fem!Lelouch one-shots requested by Shiranai Atsune.
1. Chapter 1

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

As tiring as the Student Council work was, Rivalz Cardemonde usually couldn't complain. He was the only male in a club full of young female students, most of which were first years like him, which usually got his blood flowing. However, today was rough. The two hour long meeting had just finished, and Rivalz just realized that his dad was going to meet more nobles tonight, which meant that he had to make dinner for himself. As this realization hit him, Rivalz groaned in annoyance.

"Is something wrong?" Shirley Fenette asked him while looking at him curiously. Shirley was one of the many girls in the club, and in Rivalz's humble opinion, the tied for second on his list of "Hottest Girls of Ashford Academy".

"Oh, it's nothing," he responded. "I just realized that I need to make myself dinner since my dad is meeting some important people tonight, but I'm already too tired to do anything."

"Oh, what does he do?"

"Well, he's a bartender in a really fancy bar. Lots of nobles and other important figures come by often, so my dad's got lots of connections." Rivalz tried to say it in a really humble way, but it ended up sounded slightly pretentious.

"Look at Mr. Fancy Pants over here, then!" laugh Milly Ashford, the Student Council President, the granddaughter of the Headmaster, and the "Academy Queen". Rivalz knew that aside from those titles, Milly did have a lot going for her, if you catch his drift. She was first on his list for sure, and Rivalz knew that he was crushing on her hard.

Across the table, Lorraine Lamperouge looked on and smirked at Milly's loud banter. Lorraine was tied with Shirley on Rivalz's list, but unlike the bubbly and outgoing orange haired girl, Lorraine was often cold and unforgiving, giving her the title of "Ice Queen".

Rivalz was smiling too. "Anyway ladies, I should be leaving now before I pass out due to exhaustion. Later!"

"Bye Rivalz!" Shirley and Milly exclaimed. However, Lorraine appeared to be lost in thought. Rivalz frowned slightly but quickly cheered up, knowing that he could get her to smile another day. _But man, she's way too cold_ , he thought.

Rivalz headed towards the students' parking lot, where he had left his motorbike. The bike was a gift from his father, who shared Rivalz's love for motorbikes and automation. However, the finer details of auto mechanics were lost to his dad, but Rivalz had more time to practice the craft. As he was about to hop on the bike, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Rivalz," said the authoritative voice of Lorraine Lamperouge.

The boy in question turned around quickly, not expecting to see his fellow club member. "Yes?"

"Would you say that your father has many connections to nobles?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. Why do you ask?" Rivalz was beginning to get very confused. _Why the heck is she interrogating me about this?_

"Good. Now, for the final question. Are you willing to gamble, Rivalz?" Lorraine asked him mysteriously.

"...Pardon?"

"I said gamble. With money." came Lorraine's response to his confusion.

"Well, as long as I don't get cheated out of anything and as long as both me and my dad are safe, then sure." Rivalz answered tentatively.

"Good, now we can set up appointments. You know of Baron Claude, correct?" Lorraine questioned him. Rivalz hesitated for a second before nodding. At this, Lorraine's grin widened. "I want you to set up an appointment with him for this Thursday, at 5 p.m. Tell

him that the stakes are 100,000 pounds for both parties. The game will be chess."

"This Thursday, sure thin—wait, did you just say 100,000 pounds?!" Rivalz exclaimed. This girl must be kidding. Where on earth were two first year high school students going to find 100,000 Britannian pounds?!

"Yes, 100,000 pounds." Lorraine responded, unbothered by his outburst. "Everything will be fine."

"But where on earth are the two of us going to find 100,000 pounds?!"

"Well," she grinned at him mischievously, "if we lose, then Milly will be very very mad at the two of us." Without missing a beat, Lorraine turned on her heels and began walking away.

Rivalz watched her walk away for a while before he turned back and faced his prized motorbike. _I knew she was cold, but now I know that she is absolutely crazy_ , he thought. However, it was not like he was unwilling to gamble. After all, 100,000 pounds is more than enough money for any student. He sighed and climbed on to his bike before Rivalz remembered something important. _She didn't even say thank you!_

* * *

Rivalz was, understandably, very nervous. In contrast, Lorraine looked like the very image of indifference as she sat in his motorbike's side car. The tension in the air was very obvious.

"Um..." started Rivalz in an attempt to lighten up the mood, "Are you sure that we're going to win?"

"Of course. Chess is my specialty," she responded, without even looking at him. Now, Rivalz knew that she was smart. Everyone in the first year knew, for after all, Lorraine had some of the highest marks in their grade. So, her interest at chess was not exactly a surprise to him. However, he couldn't help but be doubtful. After all, they were putting 100,000 Britannian pounds on the line; money that neither Rivalz nor Lorraine possessed.

"Lorraine, watch out. The road is going to be a bit bumpy up ahead because of some construction," Rivalz warned the girl. She didn't respond verbally, but he knew that Lorraine understood.

Part of the road gave way to large construction vehicles and men dressed with standard bright orange vests. Soon enough, the road's smooth asphalt ended and the bike began to shake. But right now, as much as Rivalz wanted to pay attention to the road, his eyes were currently assessing Lorraine's large, bouncing...assets. Lorraine paid him no mind, instead, she watched him in amusement. However, her fun soon ended as the vehicle began to drift slowly.

"Rivalz," she warned him. "Keep your eyes on the road."

The pervert in question blushed furiously before turning back to the road. "Sorry, I jus—"

"It's fine," Lorraine interrupted him, before telling him sweetly, "Make sure it doesn't happen again."

"O-of course!" Rivalz answered. _Man, she can be scary_.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, both literally and figuratively. Aside from small comments about the weather and changes in the settlement, silence reigned. Soon enough, the two first years found themselves in front of a large business building, the main office of Baron Claude. The baron ran a large textile company, one that supplied many smaller companies in Area 11. As such, the building was huge.

Lorraine was unfazed.

She marched straight up to the main desk with Rivalz in tow. The secretary on duty barely had the change to look up before Lorraine was upon her. "We have an appointment with Baron Claude."

The secretary looked surprised, not many people had this type of boldness and audacity. "Y-your name?" he stuttered slightly.

"Lorraine," came the response.

The secretary looked down at his desk before finding the appropriate time and name. "Ah yes, Baron Claude is expecting you on level 200. He will be notified of your arrival."

Lorraine nodded to signify her thanks before turning towards the steel elevator doors. Once again, Rivalz could do nothing but follow her. After a short wait, the doors opened, revealing a stylish steel interior with mirrored walls and golden accents. Lorraine pressed the button labeled "200" and they were on their way.

Rivalz, who was still nervous, asked her, "So...do you have a strategy or something? To win?"

"Of course," she smirked. "Win."

Rivalz was slightly disappointed, but only voiced it with a small, "Oh."

Before long, a small ding was heard, and the doors opened. It revealed quite an intimidating sight; the room was brightly illuminated, with body guards at attention by the doorway. What could only be assumed as the Baron's desk was placed at the back, near large windows that had a magnificent view of the whole Tokyo Settlement. Baron Claude, in all his large glory, sat behind a behind a small table with a standard chess board in top. Lorraine was not impressed. However, Rivalz was shaking in nervousness.

The baron called out to them, "My, my. When I received a challenge, I didn't expect my opponents to be two young school children." His voice reeked of privilege and greed, two things that Lorraine hated.

"I guess the match should be no problem for you, then," countered Lorraine.

Baron Claude looked surprised for a second, before throwing his head back and laughing an obnoxious laugh. "It seems as if you have lots of spirit." His eyes narrowed at her, "But I don't mind putting you in your place."

On this inside, both Lorraine and Rivalz were disgusted, but neither showed it. Instead, she did not reply, which seemed the amuse Claude.

"What will you take?" the baron asked them.

"Black," was Lorraine's response. At this, the large man's grin grew slightly wider.

"As you wish," he answered mockingly. Again, she did not reply. The two of them began to arrange their pieces in their proper positions.

When they finished, Lorraine turned back to her partner and said, "Don't get too comfortable. This shouldn't take much time at all." He nodded back to her, yet he was still very nervous about the outcome of this match.

Across the table, Baron Claude's face was slowly becoming red with anger. "Don't underestimate me, girl! You're much too young and much to arrogant to be challenging me like this!"

Instead of being intimidated or showing fear, Lorraine raised her eyes off of the board slowly. "We'll see about that, Baron. However, it is you who is underestimating me."

(Line Break)

Rivalz was still in shock. He hadn't said a single word since the elevator ride down, which was rather unusual for him; he was normally much more talkative. However, this time he had good reason to stay quiet. Ahead of him, Lorraine walked with purpose, as if nothing had just happened. The briefcase clutched in Rivalz hands said differently.

As the two of them approached the motorbike, it all began to sink in. "Oh my god..." Rivalz whispered.

Lorraine stopped her march. "Yes?"

"We won...we won!" he exclaimed with joy. _We made it out of their alive!_

Lorraine watched him with amusement. "Technically, I won the game," she corrected him.

Rivalz wasn't deterred in the slightest. "We still won!"

And they had. Lorraine had beaten the noble in under ten minutes, something that Rivalz had only dreamed of doing. The girl's natural talent and cunning for chess was absolutely amazing to watch. The way that Lorraine tore Baron Claude apart was frightening. Rivalz was glad that he was not on the opposite end of that deal. Instead, he was now much richer.

"Now," Lorraine started, "You will receive 30% of the winnings. I will take 50%, and Ashford Academy will receive the remaining 20%. I hope you have no problem with this."

"Of course not!" Rivalz responded quickly. "I feel literally 30,000 pounds better!"

She smiled at him, a genuine smile this time. "I would also like you to arrange further meetings with various nobles for me in the future. Your 30% cut will remain the same. Unless you're unwilling to do so, that is."

Again, he responded without hesitation. "Just drive you around and make arrangements? Of course! I'd have to be stupid to turn down such a good offer."

Lorraine's smile, one that most people at Ashford Academy would probably never get to see, became even wider.

"Well, Rivalz Cardemonde, I hope that this is the start to a wonderful business relationship."

And it was.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well, Shiranai Atsune, I hope that you enjoyed. This one is for you.

Now, some of you may be confused as to why Fem!Lelouch has such a different name. I know that many other stories with a similar premise give her names like "Leloucia" or "Luluko" or something like that, but I wanted to do something different. To me, Lorraine Lamperouge is more like a different version of Lelouch, so to speak. Different version, different name. If I stuck with a name more similar to Lelouch, so would the personality of my character. The different between Lorraine and Lelouch will eventually present itself more in further chapters.

I also chose Lorraine for more reasons than just that. Lorraine is a French name, which is fitting because Marianne vi Britannia was a French commoner. It makes sense. I also chose Lorraine for its phonetic sound. When said outloud, Lorraine sounds similar to " _la reine_ ", which is French for "the queen". The symbolism explains itself.

I chose to write the beginning of Lorraine's and Rivalz's relationship because I thought it gave me more opportunities to present something new. For example, Lorraine's mysterious and cold behavior towards people who she would eventually become close friends with. It's nice to add my own take to the regular CG Universe and canon.

Now, I'm going to start working on the next update of Thoughts of Truth. When that's all wrapped up, I'll work on the next installment of The Human Element. I'm trying to alternate between the two to keep myself interested.

As for myself, nothing much happening. I'm trying to figure out my schedule for uni, and I may or may not be going out of town soon. We'll see! Thank you all for reading, I really appreciate it. I'll see you guys in the next update.

DYFM out!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Male!C.C. You have been warned.

* * *

Lorraine Vi Britannia knew that fighting to liberate Japan and enacting her revenge on her father would be a massive challenge, but some days she just wanted rest. But not today, it seemed. She was frustrated and tired, and a nice peaceful tea session with her sister sounded like the perfect thing right now. Lorraine had just returned from saving her long lost best friend, Suzaku Kururugi, but when she had asked him to join her under the disguise of Zero, he had refused. She was understandably very upset at this turn of events, even though her plan for saving him went perfectly.

Lorraine shook her head to clear her thoughts. She didn't want Nunnally to sense her frustration. She opened the door and her loyal maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, came to greet her.

"Welcome home, Mistress," the maid bowed towards her.

Lorraine removed her shoes. "Thank you, Sayoko." She knew that Nunnally was most likely waiting for her in the dining room, so she made her way there with Sayoko trailing behind her.

"Mistress?"

"Yes?"

"Earlier on in the evening, a man came by asking for you. Normally, I wouldn't have let him in, but Mistress Nunnally deemed him to be trustworthy. He is currently in the dining room with her, but he has done nothing suspicious so far," Sayoko said, before she stopped to take care of the cleaning.

Lorraine didn't react to this news externally, but on the inside she confused. _A man? Looking for me?_ she thought. _Suzaku is probably at the court martial now, there hasn't been someone that I've met that would have taken an interest in me. Unless..._ She entered the dining room.

"Welcome home, Big Sister!"

"From your appearance, can I assume that you ate out tonight?" a green haired male asked her.

 _...it was that warlock._

Her younger sister, Nunnally Lamperouge, sat on her custom-made wheelchair next to the dining table. As usual, she was the perfect picture of grace and calmness. Beside her sat the mysterious man from Shinjuku, still dressed in that straightjacket that was much too tight and form-fitting for Lorraine's liking. On the table rested a tea set, multiple origami cranes, and multiple pieces of unfolded paper. The only thing that bother Lorraine was that warlock.

"I was worried about you," Nunnally stated. "I thought that you were caught up in that chaos with that Zero woman. I even tried calling you, but you didn't pick up. Even after Mr. C.C. came here..."

"Mr. C.C...?" Lorraine said in shock.

At this, Nunnally laughed. "You have such an odd friend! Imagine only going by your initials."

"Yeah..." Lorraine mumbled. She was still in shock over this unexpected turn of events. Meanwhile, C.C. continued to fold more origami cranes.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Nunnally smiled widely.

Lorraine blushed. "No, I—"

"Our relationship involved a promise she made for the future. Right?" The man interrupted her.

"For the future? You mean marriage?" asked Nunnaly, shocked. She didn't expect her Big Sister to go get married behind her back!

"No! No, no, no!" Lorraine defended herself and waved her arms in front of her to accentuate her argument. "It's not like that Nunnally! He's just kidding, right C.C.?"

"You're doing this much sooner than most, Big Sister. They say that everyone is different, so I suppose it's not that strange," Nunnally said, as she looked downwards. "I support you though...but still."

At this point, Lorraine had had enough. This man was messing with him and making Nunnally grow distant from her. She had to do something about this without causing too much suspicion. Lorraine picked up C.C.'s teacup and dropped it on the floor.

"You're so clumsy, C.C.! Now you're all soaked. Let's get you some spare clothes, I'm pretty sure there are some upstairs," Lorraine exclaimed. She grabbed C.C.'s wrist and began to drag him away from the table. "Come on, we have to get you to the bathroom and find you a change of clothes. There should be some upstairs." Meanwhile, Nunnally looked on, confused at this change of events. It was all so sudden. "Sorry Nunnally, just stay here and I'll come back and get this cleaned up," Lorraine paused before adding, "And he was just joking earlier! Ha ha!"

As her Big Sister took C.C. upstairs, Nunnally knew that her brother was lying about something. She could always tell.

* * *

Lorraine took C.C. up to his room and closed the door behind them, not caring if she was being too rough.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Didn't you hear? My name is C.C.," came the mysterious reply.

Lorraine wasn't fazed. "I'm not talking about your name! You're..."

"Supposed to be dead?" C.C. smiled at him as his golden eyes twinkled mischievously. He turned around and continued, "Do you like the power that I gave you?"

"So it was you, after all."

"Are you dissatisfied?" C.C. asked her, as he laid down on _her_ bed.

Lorraine frowned, annoyed at C.C.'s casualness. "No, I'm grateful. You've allowed me to advance in my schedule."

"Your schedule?" he inquired with a smirk.

"My schedule for defeating Britannia, of course!" Lorraine stated boldly. "If it wasn't for this power, I would have had to wait longer to make my move."

"You believe that you can defeat it with just that power?"

"Of course! After all, I was intending to do it without this power," Lorraine replied.

C.C. rolled over in her bed slightly and spread his arms along the bed sheets. "You're quite fascinating."

Lorraine blushed slightly, albeit unintentionally. "What are you going to do? The military must be after you," she said, trying to change the subject.

"Only a small portion of the military," C.C. stated casually, like hiding from Britannian forces was an everyday thing for him. "I should be fine just hiding normally." The lime green haired man began to reach for the zippers on his straight jacket and began to it off. "I should be fine right here."

More and more of his bare skin was beginning to show. It became too much for Lorraine as she shrieked loudly and covered her face with her hands. Apparently, the straightjacket was the only thing that C.C. had on. "What are you doing?!" she yelled at him. No response came, however. Instead, Lorraine heard the rustling of sheets and assumed that C.C. had gone beneath her blankets. She peeked between her fingers and was glad to see that her assumption was correct. Lorraine prayed to the gods that C.C. at least had underwear on. "You're sleeping in my bed, too?! A real man would at least sleep on the floor!"

C.C. didn't really seem to care. "Me staying here shouldn't really be a problem, right?"

"Of course it's a problem!" Lorraine exclaimed hotly. "You being discovered here would get us both in trouble!"

"I guess you better take good care of me, then" came C.C.'s arrogant reply.

"You..." Lorraine growled, before realizing that she was about to start yelling again. She stopped her train of thought, and took a deep breath to calm down. "I will do my part if you do yours, C.C." She sat down on the edge of the bed, more calm than just a second ago. "How does this power work though? Is there anything more that you can tell me?"

There was a pause before C.C. responded. "Good night, Lorraine," he said stubbornly.

Lorraine was about to retort before she realized that he was most likely not going to respond. She sighed then said, "I'm going to go say good night to Nunnally now." Lorraine then quickly got to her feet and left the room, closing the door behind her.

C.C. laid on his side, with his eyes wide open. "Oh, she is quite fascinating indeed. Don't worry, I won't be teasing her too much. However, I would be lying if I said that it wasn't fun," he said out loud, like he was speaking to someone.

* * *

After a meeting filled with paperwork and budget balancing (due to Milly's procrastination, of course), Lorraine Lamperouge finally came home. While it wasn't that late in the day, Lorraine would have still preferred to be relaxing or playing chess. She walked through the hallways of the large mansion. "I'm home!" she called out.

Soon enough, Nunnally wheeled herself over towards her sister. "Welcome home, Lorraine," she smiled at her. "How are you?"

"Tired," the teen responded. "Milly worked us to death again."

Nunnally giggled at this. "Procrastinating with the budget as usual?" Lorraine nodded in confirmation. "Milly is always obsessed with making those large parties and events, but I don't mind. In fact, I quite like them." Lorraine knew that for a fact. Throughout the many years that the siblings had known the Ashford heiress, Milly had always had a love for the extravagant. "However, speaking about obsession" Nunnally continued tersely, "You've been ordering way too much pizza lately!"

"Pizza?" asked Lorraine, puzzled.

"Don't pretend like it's not there, Big Sister! I know you've been hiding those boxes in your room, because it's starting to smell."

Lorraine didn't know what to say. She had no idea where the pizza was coming from, but she did have a general idea; a certain green haired, golden eyed, annoying individual. "I'm sorry Nunnally," she apologized slowly. "It's just that...I've been having cravings lately."

"Cravings?" Nunnally asked curiously with her head tiled slightly to the side.

"Yes, cravings. They're bad, I know, but I can't help it," Lorraine said hesitantly as she feigned embarrassment.

Nunnally smiled at her. "It's ok, Big Sister! You've always been a bit skinny, so I don't mind. As long as the cravings aren't the result of something bad."

It took Lorraine a couple seconds to understand what Nunnally was suggesting. "No! It's not like that Nunnally, I swear!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! I'm much too young for something like that, and you know it!" Lorraine defended herself.

Nunnally smiled up at her. "Good. As your younger sister, I have to make sure that you're okay."

"I know..." the older sister said gratefully. "And besides, there's only one person that I love, and that's you!" Lorraine poked her sister on the nose and she giggled cutely.

"I love you too, Big Sister." Nunnally reached her arms around Lorraine and held her there for a while. The two remained in that position, hugging each other, for a couple of minutes before Lorraine pulled away unwillingly.

She smiled at her younger sister. "I think I should put my school things away before my back hurts even more."

Nunnally laughed gently. "I'll be in the dining room, then."

The two sisters smiled at each other once more before they parted ways, Lorraine to her room and Nunnally to the dining area, presumably with Sayoko. As soon as Nunnally was out of sight, Lorraine dropped her carefree sickened her to lie to her sister, but she was glad that her excuse worked. _It must have been him_ , she thought. _That idiot!_

The upset teen marched her way towards her bedroom and threw open her door. "C.C.?!" she demanded.

Boxes of pizza littered the floor. The smell of cheese and tomato sauce permeated the room, which was something that would take a while to air out, to Lorraine's ever growing annoyance. C.C. sat on the bed with an open pizza box beside him, wearing only just a pair of shorts. He had a slice of pepperoni in his hand and chewed then swallowed whatever pizza he had in his mouth quickly before answering. "Yes?"

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading the latest chapter of The Human Element! This is for Shiranai Atsune, who requested a Fem!Lelouch/Male!C.C.

Not many changes from the episode (E5, Season 1), but there are still differences. You can see the difference between Lorraine and Lelouch here, where Lelouch can keep his cold and calculating imagine while Lorraine wears her emotions on her sleeve (not completely, but just more than Lelouch). Also, Male!C.C. is a bit more arrogant, but not by much. He does enjoy being less clothed though, imagine Aikuro Mikisugi from Kill La Kill with less nudity and over the top personality. I think that Male!C.C.'s new arrogance really helps illustrate the difference in shown emotions by Lorraine and Lelouch, so that works out quite well.

I was going to add another scene with C.C., but I decided that it would make this chapter kind of messy. I think that if I do decide to write it, it deserves a chapter of its own. I was also going to finish this one tomorrow, but I got myself down to finish it today so I could have more time to sleep in LOL. I've been quite tired lately. Now, the next chapter will be featuring either Suzaku or Male!Kallen, but the next thing I write will be the new chapter for Thoughts of Truth. I hope you guys are looking forward to it.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this chapter, I really appreciate it! Please take the time to review if you have anything to say or critique.

DYFM out!


	3. Chapter 3

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Most of the time, school was a boring and dull affair. Lorraine's marks were already at the top of her grade, and many of the staff members predicted that by the time she graduated, she would be the valedictorian. However, just because her grades were high didn't mean that the Ice Princess of Ashford enjoyed sitting around for hours on end. To her, classes were boring. They were just a repetition of the things that she already knew. Today would not be one of those days.

It was the first class of the day, Mathematics. While it wasn't as boring as History, it was tedious. Lorraine had already mentally prepared herself for a boring class because after all, she was an expert at sleeping during lessons.

The professor entered the classroom, and all the buzz coming from the students quickly quieted down. The man paused before the blackboard and coughed awkwardly. "Before our lesson," he began, "I would like to inform you of a new student who just transferred in to our class."

The whispers and murmurs of curiosity grew in volume. It was not every day that a student transferred in. Lorraine simply raised an elegant eyebrow, but otherwise remained impassive.

"You may come in now."

"I'll be joining you all here at Ashford Academy starting today. I'm Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The classroom was completely silent, but Lorraine's eyes widened. Despite the quietness of the classroom, Suzaku marched to an empty seat by the back of the classroom, one row behind Lorraine. As he passed by his childhood friend, his eyes widened in shock after seeing Lorraine alive and well, despite the events that happened in the Shinjuku Ghetto. Lorraine, noticing his stare, quickly shook her head almost unperceivably. Suzaku got the message and continued his march and sat down. Nobody spoke until the end of the lesson.

As soon as the class ended, the whispers emerged once more at full force. Unlike the curious tone they had just moments ago, these ones were full of prejudice, suspicion, and aggression.

"Why's an Eleven here?!"

"Wasn't he a suspect in Prince Clovis' murder?"

"But the teacher said it was a false arrest!"

"Even so, he looks kind of suspicious, doesn't he?"

Suzaku didn't bother to pay attention to what his new classmates were saying. It didn't bother him too much. _Of course they would be suspicious of me, an Eleven. It's understandable of them to think that way_ , he reasoned internally. So he continued to unpack his things as whispers and rumours swirled their way across the classroom.

Shirley, the ever-positive person that she was, decided that he wasn't scary at all. "We shouldn't just be scared of him! If we talk to him, we can see what he's like!" she said to Rivalz and a scared Nina.

Before she couldn't approach him, Rivalz grabbed the orange haired girl's arm. "You tend to come off a bit strong," he reasoned with her.

Lorraine had enough. It was understandable that his classmates were suspicious of Suzaku, but to talk about him like he wasn't even in the room was offensive. Yet at the same time, she couldn't come to his aid. If she did, it would draw too much attention to Suzaku and to herself. It was something that she didn't need right now. Lorraine stood up quickly, earning a look of surprise from both Shirley and Suzaku. But before she passed the doorway and entered the hall, she looked back at Suzaku briefly and fixed the collar of her blouse.

Suzaku was shocked. He understood the code gesture perfectly fine, of course, but he didn't expect Lorraine to be using it after so long. He waited a couple more minutes to pack his bag before he, too, left the classroom and made his way to the roof.

* * *

The rooftop of Ashford Academy was almost spotless. It seemed like an elegant place to relax after classes, with beautiful railings and a smooth granite floor. It provided a wonderful view of the school grounds and the charming water fountains and gardens. It was not a place that Suzaku was used to. He had always been a military man, and this show of wealth and power was unknown to him. He was lucky to be able to attend this school, and he knew it.

Suzaku looked over and spotted the long, dark locks of Lorraine vi Britannia as she leaned over one of the railings that overlooked the grounds. He walked over to her, knowing that she wouldn't like it if he kept her waiting.

Lorraine turned towards the Japanese teen and smiled. "It's been seven years since we used that signal."

"Let's talk in the attic, right?" Suzaku responded as he smiled back.

"Yeah."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Suzaku said happily. He was very glad; Lorraine was, and still is, his best friend. After the events in the Shinjuku ghetto, Suzaku had been very worried about his best friend's survival, and it had been noticed by Lloyd, even though he didn't know anything about her.

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't protected me then…" Lorraine's violet eyes darkened as she remembered how the corrupt Royal Guard had shot Suzaku in the back for not killing an innocent. They were despicable.

Suzaku smiled in an attempt to ease his friend, "I was just returning the favour. From seven years ago."

Lorraine simply frowned and looked away. She still felt guilty that is was her family, her _father_ , that bombed the Kururugi household and destroyed the lives of so many Japanese. She would also feel guilty about that.

Suzaku sensed the dark haired girl's uneasiness. "What about that girl? The one in the capsule!" he asked in attempt to change the subject.

"We were…separated during the fighting," Lorraine admitted slowly. This, of course, was a lie. Lorraine hated lying to her best friend, but it was a necessity. She didn't need to involved him any further in to what was happening. He had already been through enough. "Wouldn't you know more about her?" she asked the soldier.

Suzaku frowned, "No. It looks like only the Royal Guard knew anything about her."

 _But the Royal Guard is now dead, thanks to me_ , Lorraine thought. "I see..."

"And your name…do I still call you Lorraine?" Suzaku asked the girl.

"Since the records list my former identity among the dead, I go by the name Lorraine Lamperouge now," she responded curtly. She didn't want anyone to overhear such sensitive information. "But you can call me by my real name in private," she smiled ay him.

Suzaku blushed slightly. "I see…"

"And you? What happened at your court martial?" Lorraine asked gently, before her tone changed in to something more suspicious, "And why did you enroll in this school?"

"I'm just as surprised!" Suzaku exclaimed brightly. "I had no idea you were here. You see, someone arranged for me to get a proper investigation. They said that a 17-year-old should be in school."

 _Someone high up would allow a Japanese man to attend a Britannian school?_ Lorraine thought suspiciously. _Nobody would do that…besides Euphemia. Of course_.

"That was very kind of them," Lorraine smiled. "Now I get to see you every day."

Suzaku frowned at that. "Lorraine, I…" he began hesitantly.

"Don't worry, Suzaku," was all she said before pulling him in to a tight hug and held him closely.

"L-Lorraine?!" he exclaimed in surprise. Suzaku was pretty sure that his cheeks were probably as red as tomatoes by now.

"Oh, shut up," she laughed. "This is probably the only time I will show affection, so just appreciate it." She punctuated her statement by holding him a bit tighter.

Suzaku, on the other hand, felt as if it was almost _too_ affectionate. Right now, he was in a state of shock, and the only things his body registered was that…softness pressing against his chest. He might be naïve, but he knew exactly was that was. However, he knew that he would have to hug back, or else this torture would never end. So he put in arms around her like she expected him and held her close. _Lorraine is right_ , he reasoned, _this might be the only chance we get_.

After a couple moments she pulled away from him, with a light blush adorning her face. However, it didn't compare to the redness on his cheeks. "Thank you, Suzaku," she said gently before she coughed. "Now let's get back downstairs, before people start suspecting things," she ordered in a more neutral tone.

"Yes ma'am!" he saluted her jokingly.

She laughed at him, the same laugh that he heard 7 years ago, and Suzaku knew that everything was going to be alright. Like they once said to each other, in the attic of the Kururugi household all those years ago, that the two of them together could accomplish anything.

The two of them began to walk back to the doors that led to the lower levels of the academy. Before they reached it, Lorraine turned to look at her best friend. "Let's visit Nunnally this evening, okay? She would love to see you after all this time."

Suzaku smiled at her. "Sure thing."

Some things never changed, and their friendship was one of them.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh my god, I'm back! Hey everybody, sorry about the massive delay that it took to finally finish this chapter. I know its been way too long for a 1k update, but I'm sorry. I've been busy these first couple of weeks with university, and even though I'm staying in town, it's still a rough period of transition. A 40-minute commute has turned in to a 2 hour one and I hate it. However, I think I'm getting a bit better now in terms of time management. Honestly, it wasn't as fun as I expected it to be in first week, but now I'm starting to enjoy it as I've made more friends and getting in to work that I'm actually enjoying. Media theory is so boring though.

However, I hope that you enjoyed this latest update for The Human Element. Next time, I'll be working on the next chapter for Thoughts of Truth and I also have a new idea for a one-shot. Hopefully it won't take a couple weeks.

Sorry about the delay once again, but things are getting a bit better. Thanks for reading this update, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Please review if you enjoyed!

DYFM out!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 4**

A/N: Just a quick note for some context. Male!Kallen has been reborn as Kaelen Stadtfelt. Both Kallen and Kaelen mean "mighty warrior" in Irish. If this is incorrect, please let me know. Enjoy the chapter!

Edited 06/01/17: Changed Lorraine's nickname to "Lory" rather than "Lulu". Thanks DYnoJackal19 for the suggestion.

* * *

"Kaelen, it's been ages!"

Lorraine looked up at this sudden exclamation. It would seem as if a returning student had returned to class after a long period of time, not that she would remember them or anything. It was odd, however, as Lorraine assumed that she would have remembered someone with such red hair… _Wait, red hair?_

"Have you been alright, man? It's been a long while, huh?" said another one of Lorraine classmates as he crowded the returning student.

"Yeah, I just have to take it easy for a while," Kaelen said timidly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was a tall, broad individual whose posture completely contrasted his more introverted personality.

Lorraine, on the other hand, was thinking much different things. _I swear I've seen him before,_ she mused, before her expression changed in to one of slight amusement. _Of course, the pilot of the red Glasgow. It's hard to forget such a talented pilot. It doesn't hurt that he's quite handsome, as well._

But as usual, Rivalz arrived to disturb her thinking. "What's up, Lorraine? See something you're interested in? You know, this usually isn't like you, checking out guys and everything."

Lorraine glared at him in irritation for a moment before hiding it quickly. "It's just that this is a pretty rare event," she explained. "He hasn't been here at school ever since the term started."

"Kaelen Stadtfeld. They say he's sick or something, and he barely showed up at school last year either. Still, his grades are at the top of the class, besides you, of course. And he's a member of the Stadtfeld family, which means he's noble _and_ rolling in money," Rivalz rambled. "Not bad, but I know you could probably do better."

"It's not like that," she scoffed. She was much too busy with better things to deal with a relationship.

As usual, Rivalz simply laughed it off and said "You don't have to hide it from me! But he's a bit too sheltered, if you ask me. You're better off with a spontaneous and funny guy, like me!"

"In your dreams, Rivalz," Lorraine laughed at him as she let her cold-hearted façade break for the smallest of moments.

* * *

"Hey guys, how about we move to a different spot? There's a bee buzzing around," comment one of Kaelen's "friends".

"Sounds good to me, I'm not about to get stung," said another boy. "Kaelen, are you coming?"

"Y-yeah, just a second," the red head mentioned, while doing his best to calm his growing irritation. These Britannians, getting worked up over a mere bee. Soon enough, those socialite leeches that Kaelen called her friends had left, and he was left alone. Without hesitation, he walked over to the offending bee and swatted it out of the air. _I hate this. I hate acting like a sick invalid!_ he thought, enraged. His inner ranting was cut off, however, as he noticed someone approaching him. _Crap, she might have seen me!_

 _There is no question, it is him,_ Lorraine thought as she approached the boy. _But just in case…_

"Um, can I help you with something?" Kaelen asked her.

"Yes, there is, in fact. I want answers," she commanded him, as she let her Geass flow to her eye.

Immediately, Kaelen stiffened. "Of course."

"Where you the one piloting the Glasgow in Shinjuku?"

"Yes."

"Why terrorism?"

"Because I'm Japanese. Technically I'm half Britannian," came his answer.

 _Interesting…_ Lorraine thought as she looked away. _I can work with this._ "But why go so far?"

"Huh? Do you need something?" Kaelen asked, confused.

"No, I got what I needed here. But just to be sure, don't tell anyone about Shinjuku."

Now he was even more confused. "What do you mean, about Shinjuku? Why would you say that?"

 _What? Is it not working?_ "Get back to class," she commanded him once more.

"As soon as you answer my questions, I will." Now Kaelen was thoroughly annoyed. He didn't want to intimidate the shorter girl, but she was getting on his nerves.

 _It's not working? What's going on?_ Lorraine thought, panicked. Luckily, she was saved.

"Hey, Lory! Kaelen!" Shirley called from a nearby window. "You know, it's time to head over to the chem lab! You'd better get a move on!"

"Oh crap, it's my turn to set up for class!" Lorraine cried in mock urgency. She took advantage of Kaelen's confusion and made her way back in to the school. That hadn't gone as well as she expected. While she had gained the answers she wanted, Kaelen was bound to be much more suspicious of her. She would need a plan to throw him off her trail. But more urgently… _Why didn't it work a second time?_

* * *

It hard been far too long, Lorraine decided. Today, she would confront Kaelen and get him off her trail. No matter what it would take to do so. She strode through campus with a purpose, determined and motivated to sway her potential ally in the direction she wished.

"Hey, Lory! Are you coming along?" called the overly bubbly Shirley Fenette. While she was one of Lorraine's close friends, she didn't let this stop her.

"Sorry Shirley, I have something to attend to," she said as she brushed away the orange haired girl. There was nothing stopping her today. Shortly, she arrived in front of Kaelen and his group of friends. _I bet not even a single one of them knows the person behind the sickly disguise,_ she thought, amused. Outwardly, however, she held the expression that Ashford Academy had associated with its resident Ice Princess.

As Lorraine approached, the group of boys quieted down. For them, this was quite unexpected. Lorraine Lamperouge was known as the Ice Princess for many reasons, and one of them was because she showed barely any interest in the opposite sex. What was she doing here?

Lorraine's clear voice broke the silence. "Kaelen Stadtfelt. Do you think you could spare a minute? I wish to speak with you."

Not a sound could be heard. "I was wondering when you would ask," came the boy's reply.

Instantly, his group of friends erupted in to a frenzy. Timid, shy Kaelen was being able to speak privately to one of the most beautiful girls in the school?! It was a fantasy most male students only dreamed of. Lorraine glared at them unapprovingly, quieting them somewhat, but still not enough to keep them from whispering rumours to each other. Her eye twitched for a moment, before she turned away and began walking towards the Student Council Building. A confused Kaelen had no choice but to follow.

Lorraine led him to the main ballroom within the building, where the majority of Milly's fanciful and expensive parties were held.

"I didn't even know a room like this existed," Kaelen said in awe. However, as bright and as beautiful as it may be, it only served to remind him of Britannian privilege, while the Japanese were forced to live in the slums.

"It's the club house for the student council," Lorraine explained. "They built as a ballroom for various special occasions."

"And we won't be disturbed here?" Kaelen questioned, his eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes, of course," she assured him.

All was well, until they were disturbed.

"Here it is! I found it! Look! This is it, right?" came Shirley's energetic voice as she picked something off the floor.

Upon hearing this, Nina's normally timid face broke in to a smile. "Thanks for finding our lab data, Shirley. I would have been so lost without it."

"Good! Now I can finally rest, 'cause my ass is killing me," groaned Rivalz.

Internally, Lorraine sighed. This was a perfect opportunity to speak alone with Kaelen, and it had been ruined. It was no matter, however. There would always be a suitable chance in the future.

In came Milly Ashford with a cart full of snacks and other goodies and dressed in an apron and a maid's hat. "Were you able to find it?" she questioned, before looking at Shirley. "Good! I finished up on my end, shall we dig in?"

The other Student Council members all began to surround the cart and compliment Milly on her baking prowess. As usual, the blonde troublemaker simply basked in their appreciation without an ounce of humility.

"What's all of this for?" Lorraine questioned, confused with all of what just happened.

"Didn't you know, Lory? I thought that's why you brought Kaelen here; to induct him in the Student Council! It was all my grandfather's idea, after all," the blonde explained.

"The principals's idea?"

"Of course!" Milly exclaimed with a smile. "He thought it would be best, since with Kaelen's poor health, he might have a problem in other clubs. Oh!" she turned to Kaelen before introducing herself. "I'm Milly Ashford, president of the Student Council. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, thank you very much, but the pleasure is all mine," Kaelen said sheepishly. It took a while to get used to the boisterous blonde.

"I'm Rivalz, the secretary. If there's anything you need, I'm your man."

"Hi, I'm Shirley! I'm also a member of the swim club. Welcome!" she said with a smile.

"Hi there, my name is Nina," came her usual shy voice.

Kaelen smiled back at them all, even if it was slightly forced. "It's really nice to meet you all."

Before anyone could continue, a gentle voice came from the hallway. "Shirley, I'm sorry, but do you think you could set these on the table for me?" said a sandy haired girl in a wheelchair. In her lap, she carried more sweets. Strangely enough, her eyes were closed the entire time.

"Oh sure, thanks Nunna!"

Meanwhile, Lorraine had immediately rushed over to her little sister's side and began fussing over her. While she was doing so, Milly explained to Kaelen, "This is Lorraine's little sister, Nunnally."

Nunnally turned her head towards Kaelen and elaborated, "I'm only in the middle school group, so I can't be on the Council just yet." It was only then that he noticed that she was blind.

"That's alright," exclaimed Rivalz with a kind smile. "You're an honourary member in our book."

Nunnally's smile grew even wider at his declaration before speaking to Kaelen once again. "Hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaelen." Little did the boy know that Lorraine was glaring him, and his stare suggesting that he better not think anything but innocent thoughts of her sister.

"Thank you, you as well," Kaelen returned the greeting. At this, Lorraine relaxed, but only somewhat.

"Right!" Rivalz called, breaking up the small touching scene as he held up a bottle of what seemed to be champagne. "Shall we kick this off with a toast?"

"We're on the Student Council, we shouldn't…" Nina attempted to reason.

Rivalz merely brushed it off carelessly. "Just relax, everyone. It's only sparkling cider!"

"No way! We're gonna get in to trouble!" Shirley argued, before attempting to take the offending object away from him. The rest of the student council could only stand around and watch the event unfold.

Nunnally, meanwhile, was very confused. "What's going on?" Milly sensed that this was going to get messy, really soon so she took matters in to her own hands and steered the girl away from the chaos.

Rivalz, feeling overwhelmed from Shirley's sudden assault, tossed the bottle to his friend as soon as he could. "Lorraine, catch!"

Out of pure instinct, Lorraine snatched the bottle out of the air before it could break. Shirley immediately switched her attention to the raven haired girl, and attempted to take the cider away. Lorraine had no choice but to struggle beneath the assault until a loud pop was heard. Before it could hit him, Kaelen swatted the cork out the air. Sadly, he couldn't do anything about the stream of cider that followed.

"…What just happened?" asked the ever-innocent Nunnally.

* * *

The relentless pouring of hot water was the only thing that was calming Kaelen's nerves. Of course, the Britannians and their love of opulence and parties had lead to his uniform being ruined for the rest of the day. While it wasn't a big deal, it was still very inconvenient. "Man, this is why I hate Britannians…" he sighed.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "It's Lorraine. I brought you a change of clothes."

This was a bit earlier than expected, but it was a welcome surprise. "You can come in," Kaelen said. "I've drawn the curtain already."

Lorraine entered hesitantly. It was bad enough that Milly roped her in to fetching clothes for Kaelen; she didn't want to seem like a pervert on top of that. Then again, his silhouette behind the curtains was very flattering. _For bed-ridden kid, he has a pretty athletic build…I wonder what hi_ – Lorraine suddenly shook her head, desperate to get rid of those sinful thoughts. It suddenly felt a bit more awkward, and Lorraine felt the need to get rid of the tension. "Sorry about this. They can be pretty over the top," she apologized.

Thankfully, Kaelen took it lightly. "That's okay. There's nothing wrong with cutting lose every once in a while, right?"

"You're right. Anyway, these are some spare male uniforms that we found. I'm sorry if they don't fit well."

"It's cool. Don't worry about it," Kaelen assured her. "That was fast, though. You went all the way to the female dorm?"

"Actually, I found them in this building. My sister and I live here as a favour from the principal, as it would be hard for her to get around. As a result, I know the locations of a couple small storage rooms, one of them containing some spare uniforms." Lorraine explained.

"I see…" The previous awkward energy had returned, this time even stronger. Knowing that the conversation was over, Lorraine began to make her way to the door. Before she could leave, Kaelen called out to her. "Hey, wait! Can you grab that pouch on the shelf for me?"

"Sure." Lorraine grabbed the rather pink pouch from the shelf and handed it to the boy through the shower curtain. Mentally, she was rather amused at how forced and obvious his trick was. It was not surprising at all when he grabbed her wrist roughly. "I didn't think the sick boy would have it in him to grab an innocent girl so roughly," she remarked, amused.

Kaelen was having none of it, and went straight to business. "Were you the one in Shinjuku?"

"What do you mean?" Lorraine feigned confusion.

"Don't play dumb. You asked about Shinjuku the other day, why?" he questioned her.

Again, Lorraine continued to act as if she didn't have an idea of what was going on. "Why do you ask? Is there something wrong in Shinjuku?" Of course, she already knew first hand of the events that had taken place there.

"Don't answer my question with another question," said Kaelen, who was starting to feel very annoyed. "Just give me a yes or a no."

All of a sudden, the school phone on the shelf began to ring. Lorraine motioned to go grab it, but Kaelen's grip only tightened in response. "If I don't answer it, someone will come," she warned. Not wanting to get in to more trouble than it was worth, Kaelen let go of the girl's wrist. "Hello? This is Ashford Academy Studen Council." There was a pause, before Lorraine continued. "No, this is… I see. Kaelen, this is for you."

Behind the curtain, a million thoughts were passing through the teen's head. _Who could be calling me right now? And through the school phone?_ Ohgi would only call her through her cellphone, and the same for her step-mother. Hesitantly, he took the device that Lorraine offered him. "Hello?"

"Glad to see you're still alive, Q-1."

Kaelen was speechless. It was the voice, the same voice that saved him in Shinjuku. But that would mean that this girl, Lorraine, was just another regular student. _Was I wrong?_

After a moment's pause, the voice continued. "16:00, the day after tomorrow. The observation deck at Tokyo Tower. Come alone."

"Who are you?" Kaelen exclaimed. This was urgent. "How did you arrange that cease-fire order? Hey, don't hang up!" To his frustration, the voice had already ended the call.

Seemingly undisturbed by the boy's outburst, Lorrain asked him, "Did you say cease-fire? I think you keep some dangerous company."

Kaelen flinched, knowing that he was close to being found out. "No, that was…"

"A video game?" she finished for him, to his relief. "Something online?"

"Yeah, that's it. You know, I've been shut in my house for so long," Kaelen said, as he tried to keep his relief out of his voice. It seemed as if she had bought his excuse.

"That's why I brought up Shinjuku earlier, to warn you. I thought that maybe your friends would show you what happened, but it's pretty grim. I didn't think that you would appreciate that…" she trailed off. "By the way, you know I can see you, right?"

Quickly, Kaelen yanked the curtains closed once more and blushed heavily. It seemed as if the curtains had been drawn open when he had been answering the voice's call. Thanks to that, a girl had almost seen him naked! Deep down, he was a hopeless romantic…and his innocence had almost been taken from him. It was too much to bear.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this," Lorraine said awkwardly. "Later."

As soon as Kaelen heard the door close, he sighed in relief. Today was not a good day.

Outside the door, Lorraine was breathing hard in order to calm herself down and was sporting a bright red blush on her face. Of course, she hadn't meant to look, but it was just there! _And so were those chiseled muscles and those strong arms…I wonder if he could pick me up with those?_ At this thought, Lorraine only blushed harder, and decided that she needed to take a _cold_ shower as soon as she had the chance.

* * *

A/N: Happy New Years, everyone! I wanted to get this last chapter out as my present to you all. Hopefully you enjoyed reading, and I wish you all the best from this coming year.

Now, about this chapter. We have Male!Kallen, known as Kaelen. The name was a great find, as both Kallen and Kaelen mean mighty warrior in Irish, and they both start with a "K". I'm very happy about that. There are the usual similarities, such as the passion, the drive, and the anger. However, Kaelen does have an unknown hopeless romantic side and also can become much angrier. Not Hulk angry, but up there. Again, we see Lorraine's more emotional contrast with Lelouch, especially regarding romance and intimacy. While Lelouch was clueless, it seems as if Lorraine is not a complete stranger, after all.

In terms of this story, I would like to thank Shiranai Atsune for providing me the requests that inspired The Human Element. I would now like to open some room for more requests that you guys may have. I do have a few rules, however. First, please make sure that it occurs within the universe that has been set – canon events with genderbent identities. Second, don't make them complicated and stick with one-shot requests. That's all I'm asking for. So if you would like to send me some, just message me privately.

I was going to include some more details about my story idea involving Milly, but I just want to get this chapter out today. It will probably be in a future update. Speaking of updates, I'm hoping to have one more update to this story, one more to Thoughts of Truth, and possibly a one-shot story out by the time my break ends. I hope that will satisfy you all.

Thank you all for reading, and I wish you all the best in 2017. Let's enjoy the longest chapter of this series so far (I think), and please review! Thanks once again.

DYFM out!


	5. Chapter 5

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 5**

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Thank you Shiranai Atsune for the request.

Summary: Male!Kallen x Fem!Lelouch He has always been watching her, yearning for her love. It hurts to see the one you love, love somebody else... and then have the love wasted. But he was willing, willing to do anything because he loved her. Why couldn't she see that? Why did she have to pick the one who doesn't deserve an ounce of her affections?

Brief Author's Note: While this might seem different from the previous chapters, please keep in mind that this is simply a different perspective of what we've seen so far, and it all plays in to the timeline. For a longer author's note and an explanation to where I've been, please check the end of the chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

He watched her from afar, not knowing what he wanted. He watched her lead them, to greatness, to victory, and to all that they could have ever wanted. Zero's lead guided them to becoming more than simple terrorists, but instead Knights, and then an army. He watched her with admiration. At first, Kaelen thought that Zero was simply a joke, a madman trapped underneath a silly costume. He was soon proven wrong, as Zero was anything but.

She won against Britannia when nobody else could, she strategized better than their finest generals, she provided them with resources that were impossible to gather, and comforted him when he needed it the most. Admiration turned in to infatuation.

Yet the entire time, she had been watching him too. Watching him as Lorraine Lamperouge, Ashford Academy's Ice Princess. He paid her attention, of course, but he never bothered to inquire further than he already had. She was pretentious, he thought. He assumed that she did nothing with her life, and wasted her talent away. He thought she was just another Britannian. Just another leech of the Empire and living at the cost of thousands of Japanese lives.

So when Suzaku Kururugi, that bastard, ripped the mask off Zero's face and revealed his classmate, Lorraine, Kaelen didn't know what to think. Soon, he felt betrayal. He was hurt. It only took a couple seconds to come to terms with this new revelation, but when he did, he ran. Later, he realized that it was one of the worst mistakes he had ever made in his life.

When C.C. devised a way to track down Lorraine, Kaelen had been overjoyed. He could finally take another strike at Britannia, because the only person to wound the "holy" Empire had been Zero. They needed Zero to win. So when they found Lorraine and brought her back in to the fold, Kaelen expected success.

Lorraine delivered.

As Zero, she returned from the dead and set fear in to the hearts of Britannia. She did not seek to revive Japan, but instead created a new future for the people under the United States of Japan. She created a miracle and brought 1 million Japanese to the island of Horai, establishing a new chapter of the Black Knights powerbase. She forged an alliance with the Chinese Federation and even stopped them from being annexed in to Britannia. And even now, with the creation of the United Federation of Nations, Lorraine Lamperouge was the greatest threat Britannia had ever faced.

Kaelen had been with her the whole way.

Of course, he had doubted her at first. She was still the woman who betrayed his trust, and for a man like him, growing up while everyone close to him had been lost, trusting someone once again took a great deal of effort. Yet with every victory, with every miracle, Kaelen's trust had grown, and so had his admiration. Eventually, his previous feelings had returned. While he would not admit it, he had slowly come to love his leader.

And that's why it hurt so much.

It hurt so badly to see Lorraine with Suzaku. Kaelen didn't know why Lorraine even tolerated the other man; he was a traitor to their cause. He fought for the enemy! Why should Lorraine even speak to him when he didn't deserve it at all? Suzaku Kururugi was scum to him, a worthless man who had thrown away his pride and identity to fulfill his selfish desires. He was doing the opposite of what Lorraine wanted, he was the reason why things went so wrong originally! _But opposites attract, I guess…_

Originally, Kaelen had denied that he was jealous. He knew that he was being bitter, but not why. Yet at the same time, he knew that Lorraine being with Suzaku was not right. He had already betrayed his people, after all, and he could easily betray Lorraine. Suzaku would hurt her. Suzaku would fight against her. Suzaku would destroy everything that they had ever built together, he would crush the hopes and dreams of the Japanese, he would be the end of Lorraine Lamperouge, and he would be the end their future, a future where Kaelen and Lorraine would be _happy_.

As his breaths became laboured and deep, scared of the very things he had just imagined, Kaelen realized that he was jealous. He was jealous because he loved Lorraine Lamperouge.

Yet whenever he saw Lorraine smile around Suzaku, whenever she saw that slight blush when she thought no one was looking, whenever he saw that small smirk of hers that attempted to hide her feelings, Kaelen knew. Some things were simply not meant to be.

And it hurt. It hurt so badly. There were some days, some moments, where he felt like he couldn't breathe.

The world was cruel, in that sense. It gave him someone to look up to, someone to yearn for, someone to love. Yet at the same time, it distanced that very same person away from him, and let her love someone else. For as dedicated as he was, Kaelen knew that he could never change how she felt.

As much as she knew that Suzaku Kururugi did not deserve Lorraine's affections, Kaelen could not do a thing. He could only sit back and watch with his heavy heart, and unreciprocated love. The world was much too cruel.

The world had never been fair, after all.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello everyone once again! Yes, it has been a while, much too long, in fact. Before I dive in to a whole lot of text, I'm going to organize this for you. Firstly, I'll be talking about where I've been. Next, I'll talk about the future of this story. Lastly, I'll be talking about the future of my writing and my projects. Let's get to it!

Now, where have I been? Well I can finally say that the first year of university is finally done, and I'm pretty proud of myself for doing well, especially since that transition year can be hard for some people. I have been very busy (as you can tell) but school is a priority for me. Now that I'm back, I have four months of summer to relax, write, and work on my real life job. That's a lot more time for me to sit down and get some words on the paper, though. I'm looking forward to writing again.

For The Human Element, Shiranai Atsune, the person who originally sent requests that started this story, has sent me many more, and so have other lovely and wonderful followers. I have to say, if I enjoy the request and it fits in to what I have created so far in this AU, I will definitely consider writing it. Please, let me know. I'm aware that this is probably my biggest story on FFN, and I would love to continue writing it.

Lastly, I have some ideas for another CG story. It involves CG (obviously) and some aspects a game that I have been playing recently, Overwatch. I'm not too sure how it all fits together just yet, but I do have some ideas. With luck, I will begin writing the story shortly and see how things go from there.

I just want to say thank you once again if you're reading this, I really appreciate the support that you have all given me so far. I look forward to writing more for you guys in the future, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Thanks! DYFM out!


	6. Chapter 6

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

Brief Author's Note: Hey everyone, welcome to another chapter! I would just like to warn you guys that this contains SPOILERS for the end of the series, so please don't read it if you haven't fully watched through. This also jumps pretty far ahead from the last chronological chapter (chapter 4) so if you don't like, you can skip to the end for a further explanation. Enjoy!

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"…And now, just coming into view, is the 99th and sole Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire…"

Ah, how she longed to hear those words. The Demon Empress, the Conqueror of the World, and the Bane of Justice were all what she was known for now. The masses were all right, she had brought death and destruction in the name of "peace", but they were unaware of one defining characteristic. Lorraine vi Britannia was the master playwright, the supreme director of all the events that were about to take place. But the people would never know it.

Lorraine cast her gaze upon her subjects. It was a fine sunny day in Tokyo, a day that she would have enjoyed with her friends as they sat inside a student council room. However, that was a long time ago. Now, she only saw rows of loyal Britannian citizens that lined the road for her and her military convoy. Those exact same loyal citizens that were muttering whispers of dissent. She only smirked. _All according to the plan_.

The traitors lined both sides of the metal float, all of them being former Black Knights. They could only watch with a hateful gaze, with their limbs bound and their mouths gagged in a similar outfit that C.C. wore in that capsule all too long ago. She felt a certain sense of accomplishment and irony when she saw them, their own creator becoming their downfall. Despite this, she could not meet Kaelen's eyes, full of betrayal and anger. Her heart hurt too much to look at him, yet she carried on.

A smaller float took its place in front of Lorraine's, and on top of it stood Schneizel covered in rags and bound in chains. He made for quite a pitiful figure, the once most intelligent man in Britannia brought to nothing in front of her power. _After all those times you bested be before, brother…_ she thought, _Now I am the one who is victorious._ Lorraine let her smirk grow even larger at that thought. It was her most important victory, after all. In order to bring peace, she had defeated the man who sought to control the world with violence. He truly was a fool.

Guarding Schneizel, if only for appearances sake, since he was still under the influence of Lorraine's Geass, was Jeremiah Gottwald. In all honesty, there was not much to say about the man, but Lorraine truly did appreciate his steadfast and unwavering loyalty. In the very end, he was one of the few people that remained by her side, and for that, she was grateful.

Last, but certainly not least, was her sister, Nunnally. Her dear and beloved sister laid sprawled on the floor, clothed merely in a tattered red dress and bound by golden chains. Her head, covered in long brown hair, was facing the floor, for which Lorraine was glad. She was sure that if she peered in to Nunnally's newly opened eyes, she would see only hate. Hate that she absolutely deserved. Yet no matter how distraught her precious sister looked, no matter how much Lorraine desired to free her and hug her, and no matter how much she wanted to return to a normal life with her sister, she did not do a single thing.

Lorraine had long since accepted her fate. She knew that one day she would have to face the consequences she had made because of her actions, and she knew that people would be crying for her blood. Despite wanting to run away, she knew that this was her fate, and this was her punishment. Lorraine had regrets, of course. Far too many regrets for such a young woman, but she had made those decisions with reason and stood by them. Unbeknownst to her, small droplets of tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Yet there was no running away.

The stage was set.

A masked man appeared on the horizon. The people's savior, a symbol for freedom worldwide, clad in purple and black. Standing with his bat-like cape and iconic mask, it could only be one man. Zero!

"What? It can't be!"

"Zero?!"

Gasps and cries of confusion were already coming from the crowd. While everyone knew of Zero's prowess, to take on the most secure woman in the entire world was absurd! It was only one man against a crowd of Knightmares and whatever else Empress Lorraine had brought along with her.

"Zero?!" Kaelen cried, "But she's right there?"

Britannian soldiers in Vincent Wards took aim, but without warning Zero took off with inhuman speed. He dodged the massive bullets with uncanny precision, moving forward in a zigzag pattern towards the Royal Float. Upon reaching the Knightmares, Zero jumped with astounding agility, climbing up the frame and over the shoulder before leaping back down on to the ground.

Jeremiah snarled at the unexpected interruption. "Cease fire! I'll take care of this interloper!" he growled as his blade extended from his forearm. He swung at Zero, but the revolutionary paid him no mind as he simply jumped over the cyborg and used him like a springboard, growing over closer to the Empress. Jeremiah watched him go with feigned astonishment, before smiling ever so slightly. "Onwards, masked knight."

Now in front of the main float, Zero leaped above the chained form of Nunnally, who stared at him in astonishment, and then moved towards the still-seated Empress. "Impudent fool!" Lorraine growled at him as she reached for her gun, hidden within the many folds of her dress. Without a reply, Zero drew a large, ceremonial sword, and knocked away the weapon before she could even aim it. Disarmed and outmatched, Lorraine could do nothing but stare at her assailant in astonishment. Her eyes widened even further as Zero flicked the blade back, then began to thrust it towards her heart. _This is it_. _My final performance_.

With the tip of the blade before her, Lorraine remembered.

" _Suzaku, you must kill me. Just like you promised."_

" _You're going through with this? No matter what?" Despite himself, and all the hatred he had, Suzaku's voice trembled slightly._

 _She sighed, "Yes, the hatred of the world is now focused on me, just as planned. In order to break this cycle, I must die. Only then will the world be focused on peace."_

She felt the cool touch of metal breaking her skin. She did not feel pain, but it was cold. Like ice water running through her veins.

 _She wordlessly handed him a familiar black and purple mask as he stared at her in confusion._

" _The legend of Zero is not dead. It lives on in the hearts of the people, and in the Black Knights. Furthermore, Schneizel answers only to Zero." Suzaku could only stare as the implications of what she was saying ran through his mind. "I want you to guide the people to a greater purpose, where mankind can speak around the table as equals."_

" _And that…is the Zero Requiem," Suzaku said._

" _Yes. Humanity will always be longing for the future." Her statement was met with silence._

The sword pierced her heart in less than a second, but to her, it felt like an eternity. The cold steel began to pass right through her, yet it did not feel like the punishment she deserved. Lorraine's eyes searched for Suzaku's, but only found her reflection, tinged in purple.

" _Geass is like a wish, is it not? It's a request, asking someone for power to achieve what you couldn't before," she continued, before turning to look at him directly. "Suzaku, I am going to grant the wish known as Geass upon everyone in the world. For the sake of a better future."_

" _Lorraine, I…" Suzaku trailed off before his gaze hardened slightly. "Y-you will pay the price of using your Geass on the people. Especially on her."_

 _She sighed, a sound full of sadness and regret. "I know. The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed." There was only silence._

 _She laughed, loud and bright despite their somber setting and mood. "You will be a hero now, Suzaku. The messiah who kills the Demon Empress, Lorraine vi Britannia, and brings peace in his wake." In the heat of the moment, tears slowly began dragging their way down her face, but she did not register it at all. "Wouldn't that be great, Zero?"_

"Lorraine…" Suzaku's soft whisper broke her out of her reverie. There was nothing but the two of them now. Simply Empress and her Knight. Though she would try to deny it, her other senses were slowly beginning to fade.

She brought her hand to the cold surface of the mask, right where his cheek would be, as her body slowly began to falter and lean on the blade for support. She whispered lowly to him, "The punishment that you always asked for will be this, then. You will live on, always serving as a symbol for justice and peace. You will never live as Suzaku Kururugi, but give up the pleasures of the mortal world in exchange for peace. This is your punishment…and you will bear it, for eternity…"

There was a pause as the world gasped.

"…Suzaku?" she called out weakly. Her breaths were slowly becoming more ragged by the second.

"Yes?"

"I think, I loved you once…" she admitted, taking another breath. "I was really happy that you joined me…we always said that we could do anything…as long as we had each other." Her body felt so heavy now, and her vision was starting to blur. _Is this what it feels like..? Forgive me…_

If Suzaku was not crying before, he was now. _I think I did once, too…but it's much too late to think about what we could have had._ "Lorraine vi Britannia…this Geass, I do solemnly accept." With regret and sadness, he pulled his blade out from her dying body.

Lorraine could feel her body falling to the ground in slow motion, every movement passing by slower than the last. Yet she appreciated every single second, as she realized that these were some of the last motions that she would ever take in her life. Surely enough, her body finally toppled over her upraised platform and down on to the blue Britannian flag. The stream of blood coming from her chest smeared over the logo of the country that she hated, the country that had abandoned her and her sister. It was her final act of defiance against the country she hated the most.

She slid all the way down and hit the metal floor with a thud, but Lorraine did not feel any pain at all. Instead, she focused on her beloved sister just before her, Nunnally. It was ironic in a sense, she considered. _I started this journey for you…and now it ends with you. But for you, my sister, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat._ She wanted to reach up and touch her face one last time, but Lorraine's arms simply refused to move. She could feel tears on her face, but as she looked up ever so slowly at her sister, she realized that they were not hers. They were Nunnally's.

"Y-you mean…all this time?!" Suddenly she could feel Nunnally's hand tightly gripping on to hers. "Oh, Big Sister! I love you so much!"

Warmth blossomed through Lorraine's chest. Everything that she had ever done was for a reason. The people made her out to be an emotionless and cold monster who reveled in death and destruction, yet they were so far from the truth. If it didn't have to come this this, she would have been content living a normal life with her family. Yet that was not possible, and so the world needed to be changed. In order for the world to become a peaceful place for Nunnally, Lorraine vi Britannia would do anything.

"Yes…I destroyed worlds…and created them…anew."

Lorraine finally revealed one genuine smile, one last time.

Everything went white.

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Author's note:

Hey everyone, that was pretty sad so I'm going to stay somber for a bit. I hope you guys all enjoyed that chapter, while most of it stayed true to the canon I added a bit in there in order to further differentiate this AU, despite it being relatively the same. Again, the focus of this story is not on the action or badassery (even though I love it), but instead on the small moments where we can see Lorraine, Suzaku, C.C., Kaelen, etc as people, rather than simply characters. I hope you see where I'm coming from. I added a warning at the beginning of the chapter because I felt as if it was appropriate, but also because of some feedback I had received on the last chapter. I know that some of you do like the more plot-driven content rather than me jumping all over the place and I completely understand that! I know the last two chapters have been kind of different, but I think I'll choose something more traditional for next time. Still, I hope you enjoyed.

Now, starting the ground work for a new project soon. Honestly, I hate going through with too much planning, but I understand that's necessary. I'd personally rather just go down and write, letting the story flow more organically in my mind, but this new idea does need _some_ planning involved. I hope you'll enjoy, because I'm really liking the idea so far.

Thank you guys so much for reading this once again! I hope you're having a good day, and I'll be back soon.

DYFM out!


	7. Chapter 7

**The Human Element**

 **Chapter 7**

A/N: As requested by SerenSeren; detective type Suzaku investigating our suspect, Lorraine. Of course, things have been changed to fit the AU, but the general concept is the same. Enjoy!

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That smirk. He hated that damned smirk.

Things used to be different when they were kids, and Suzaku had once found little Lorraine's smirk to be quite cute, especially when it took lots of effort to even receive an emotional response. But now, Lorraine was a mass murderer. She had killed his love, Princess Euphemia. In one of the most secure prisons in Britannia, located right within the capital city of Pendragon, Lorraine still smirked. Suzaku hated it.

"Where are the remaining Black Knights hiding?"

"I have no clue."

"What are the amount of troops you possess?"

"No idea."

"The whereabouts of Todoh Kyoshiro?"

"Who?"

Oh, he was so close to snapping. He breathed in deep and exhaled slowly through his nose. Suzaku continued.

"Is there any financial information that you're willing to share?"

Lorraine actually laughed at that question. "From the pockets of Britannia's finest, of course!"

He was surprised that she had even answered. "Any numbers that you could give me..?"

Her violet eyes stared blankly at him. "I failed Grade 5 math."

 _For Kami's sakes!_ He seethed at her. Her smirk presented itself before him once again, and Suzaku had a very strong urge to smack Lorraine across the face, childhood friend be damned. It took almost all of his willpower to keep his facial features clear of any emotion, something he had always struggled with. But this time, he would not let Lorraine even think that she had won against him again. Instead, the brown haired teen opted for something different. He clapped his hands.

Within a couple seconds, a Britannian Guard entered the interrogation room.

"What is it that you needed, milord?"

Ah, how good it was to be in control. One of the many perks of capturing the mighty Zero. "The prisoner is being rather unresponsive. I trust that you and the rest of the Guards might be able to persuade her to talk?"

The guard swallowed, his only hesitation before nodding. "Of course, milord."

Suzaku turned to leave, but before he stepped out he whispered to the guard, low enough that Lorraine could not hear him, "Follow the correct procedures. Afterwards, she is to be brought before the Emperor, so make sure that afterwards she is at least…presentable." Suzaku soon stepped out, and Lorraine began to laugh. Not the same gentle laugh that he had rarely heard as a child, but a dark, manic laughter.

Minutes later, the laughter turned in to screaming.

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It must have been a whole day before he came back, but Lorraine was far from broken. She was a genius, after all, and no stranger to physical pain. There was nothing more that Britannia could do to her that she would not endure. But for some reason, deep down, Lorraine knew that they could have inflicted far worse pain. _But why?_

Her childhood friend sat across her just like he did yesterday. The room was dark and foreboding, just like it should be. A long strip of one-way glass took up a portion of the wall to her left, a single plain table lay between her and Suzaku Kururugi.

"Have you come to ask any more questions?"

He said nothing, and for a few moments they simply sat in silence. A guard came in and placed a small plate topped with Britannian apple pastries before walking out wordlessly.

Suzaku gestured towards the plate, before saying, "Are you more willing to talk today?"

Of course, he was talking about both the pastries and the torture. Lorraine had to suppress a snort. _I see through you a bit too easily_. "That depends on how good these are."

She picked out one from the top, and chewed slowly. They might have been drugged, of course, but she knew Suzaku wouldn't play like that. It would have hurt his stupid sense of honour and chivalry, after all. They were pretty good, all things considered. It had been years since she had eaten a Britannian-made sweet, since she had always kept a stash of Japanese candies hidden for Nunnally. She decided to humour Suzaku.

"Let's start this again," Suzaku said slowly. "Where are the remaining Black Knights?"

"Besides the ones that you've already captured, I have no idea," she answered honestly. "We had a couple safe houses in the Tokyo Settlement, but I'm assuming my troops had enough common sense to stay out of that general region for the time being."

Suzaku scribbled down some notes. "And what of the amount of troops you command?"

"A bit over 5000, I'm pretty sure. Around 4000 of those were military." Okay, she might have been lying about those numbers a bit, but it was close enough to the truth that Suzaku would have no idea. The best lies were half-lies, after all.

"The whereabouts of Tohdoh Kyoshiro?"

She scratched her head like she was thinking. "To be honest with you…I couldn't say. I have no idea how far Tohdoh's old military connections lie, so I wouldn't be able to say for sure. However, I do know that he is in Japan. The old man never had any strong connections with outside nations, especially not the Chinese."

"That's true," Suzaku laughed. "He was always a bit anti-social."

Lorraine snorted, and just for the smallest second, it felt like they were friends once again. But some things couldn't last, and both their smiles faded.

"And…"

"And what?" she prompted him.

"And what about Euphie..?" Suzaku asked her, slowly and cautiously. His eyes were surprisingly vulnerable. When Lorraine didn't answer, he elaborated. "Why did you have to…" he trailed off.

Lorraine was silent, her face a mask of stone. Of course she knew why she had to do it. Lorraine had made a mistake, a stupid mistake that came along with a stupid joke. And her sister, sweet Euphymia, paid the price. But she knew that Suzaku couldn't know that; he wouldn't believe her anyway. There was no point in telling the truth, and Lorraine vi Britannia had lived a life of lies.

"What about her?" she smirked.

His fist came without warning, slamming in to her cheek and knocking her off her chair. She fell to the ground, hands clutching at her face, before his foot swung right at her gut. When nothing more came, Lorraine coughed up blood.

Suzaku glared down at her, his green eyes stormy with rage and hate. He was trembling in anger, but Lorraine had expected this reaction. "Get up," he hissed. "Up!" When she didn't respond, he grabbed her by the collar and forced her to her feet. Slowly he dragged Lorraine across the room towards the door.

"Be grateful I didn't get the chance to kill you," Suzaku seethed at Lorraine. "You have an audience with your _father_."

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A/N:

Hi everyone! I know it took a bit to get this one done, but I hope you enjoyed. Thanks again to SerenSeren for the really cool prompt. As you can probably tell, this is in between R1 and R2, before Lorraine (Lelouch) is brought before the Emperor to be Geassed. An original scene, as you can tell, sort of my what-if Suzaku interrogated his prisoner before what actually is shown in the anime. Also, yes Lorraine can be a jerk, but that's her character too.

Next update will probably be some more GATE, but it might take a while. I'll be going out of town in 2 weeks, so that's going to delay the chapter. I do have a bit more free time this week, though, so I'll be getting started for sure. I hope you're all looking forward to it.

I was going to buy a Switch, but the damn thing is out of stock (again). It's always out of stock everywhere I go, which sucks because I've been ready to buy it for a while. I also bought the latest Fire Emblem, which is really great so far.

Anyway, I hope you're all having a good time. Happy early Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! Let's enjoy the celebrations while we can. See you in the next update.

-DYFM


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